Had a good sleep, then out to look around Metz. Weather was chilly and threatened to rain. We found a cafe and had the standard French breakfast of coffee, croissant and orange juice but had hot chocolate instead of coffee because their machine was broken and had yoghurt instead of orange juice so it wasn’t very standard after all.
Walked around the old city which was very pretty, lots of large buildings with ornate carvings, and then went into the cathedral. One of the most impressive ones we’ve visited (and we tend to go into churches and cathedrals because they tend to be very spectacular), it had amazing stained glass windows, including some by famous artists like Marc Chagall and Jacques Villon.
It was massive inside, and has one of the highest naves in the world.
Went out of the cathedral and into a market next door. Had a wander looking at all the tempting food, and then came out into the rain and I’d forgotten to bring the umbrella so went back in again. Once it had stopped went walking again and took more photos, then on to lunch. We happened to stumble upon the 5th best restaurant in the city. I had the set menu of salmon fritters and salad to start, cod on mashed potatoes and a cake pudding for dessert. Song had braised piglet cheeks on mash and the cheese platter for dessert – yes, I had fish and Song had meat. I also swapped my usual beer for a glass of wine – a merlot.
Both dishes were excellent, although a tad pricey for lunch. Still, we’re now in France so want to eat well.
Staggered out of the restaurant and continued to wander – the sun had come out so we went back to the cathedral to take more photos. There was a guy standing outside the cathedral begging, and he had a better jacket than mine. Maybe I’m in the wrong business.
Carried walking around, the streets were very pretty, lots of alleys and imposing buildings. We ended up on the street we had breakfast on and it was getting a very busy, it appeared to be the main shopping street.
Feeling a bit tired, decided to head back to the hotel where we just relaxed, decided not to have dinner because of the large lunch.
Tomorrow we’re off to Nantes.
